If you're a news junkie, you've probably noticed that when a jobs report is released by the government, the results are almost always "unexpectedly higher or lower" than economists had predicted.   We saw it again with today's jobs report.  Associated Press, citing data released today by the Labor Department, reported today that employers shed a more than expected 85,000 jobs in December.   Just who are these "experts," and how do they still have jobs?

Even worse than that aspect of the story, however, is just how bad the unemployment situation is.  While the unemployment rate is still around 10% nationwide, if you include people who have given up looking for work or those who have taken part-time jobs instead of full-time, the so-called underemployed, the actual unemployment rate is at 17.3%.  That's up from 17.2% in October.  We keep hearing that the economy is turning around.  I'm not seeing it.  And until jobs start coming back, the general public isn't going to feel it.